Bread
I know I’m not the only person on Earth right now whose brain has spiraled down this rabbit hole:
“Well, that’s it. This is the end of civilization as we know it. Better learn some useful skills. I better do a refresher course on how to bake bread.”
I know I’m not the only one because after I had this mental breakdown I went to the store and all the yeast was sold out. I had to order a huge amount on Amazon because that was all that was available. (“Better look up the directions on how to harvest wild yeast and maintain a culture.” Check.)
Back in the day I had a copy of Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day. I made bread for a while. I can’t find my book now though. So I grabbed a couple of ebooks in the series from the library. I also ordered a hardcover copy of Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day. (“Your ebooks are going to be inaccessible after the apocalype.” Thanks, panic brain. “It is a very large and heavy book. Perfect for smacking zombies upside the head if it comes to that.”)
If you aren’t familiar with these books, the idea is that you make a dough that can stay in the refrigerator for a while. (“Like you are going to have a refrigerator.” Shut up, brain!) When you want to bake a loaf you use a portion of your stored dough, mix in any flavorings you might want, shape as desired, and bake. Five minutes is a bit of a stretch because there is rising time that needs to be taken into account but it is a simple, no-knead system.
These are the books that I read. They all have the same beginning steps for the basic doughs. I didn’t have any whole wheat flour at home so I used the basic white bread recipe from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day to start. Â
I mixed up a batch and let it set to start to rise. I always get excited when that actually works. I have bad luck with yeast. Eventually it rose enough to fill the bowl.
Ready to go in the oven
Look! It turned into bread.
This is on my to-do list today. I’ve been very purposeful with my flour supply!
I’m not good with yeast. I enjoy baking though, and quick breads (typically fruit breads, like banana bread or apple bread) are easy and tasty!
Bread baking does seem to be on the rise these days. Yours came out great. Enjoy!Weekends In Maine
Your loaf looks great! Coincidentally, I made this same dough yesterday. I put garlic and cheese in my loaf, which I recommend.
Baking bread is an important thing here, too. Earlier, I posted about bread and a different book than you used — on the March Foodies Read. We have one of the 5-minute books and they are ok except that there’s no reality to the 5 minute claim.
I’m very sorry about your dog and about the difficulties in your vet practice.
Be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Ohmy, I can smell it baking now, and I won’t be satisfied until I get some! I don’t keep yeast on hand, so that’s probably not going to happen today. 🙁